SSML-55, 18 March 1997.
Hi everyone,
The rumours of a March release for the Shakespears Sister single and/or album appear less and less likely, with us halfway through March already......Still no news as yet.
Here's a review for Marcella's album "Feeler", done by Shaun Carney for The Age (an Australian newspaper) on 13th March 1997: "On her second solo album, Marcella Detroit, late of the duo Shakespear's Sister and writing hits for MOR artists including Elton John, Philip Bailey and Eric Clapton (Lay Down Sally), offers up a powerful batch of strong contemporary pop songs. Producer Mark Saunders coats the 12 songs on Feeler with an array of up-to-the-minute sonic patinas, feeding the ebullient rave on modern masculinity Boy through a fuzz machine and studding the ethereal ballad The Same Father with synthesizer washes, burping guitars and even harmonica (echoes of Beck).
Detroit's breathy, high-pitched little-girl singing style, used to such stunning effect on the monster Shakespear's Sister hit Stay really is a beautiful instrument and the way it is used here is a joy. Her vocals are mixed so far forward that she often sounds as though she is actually sitting right next to the listener and singing along with an instrumental track.
And what tracks they are. There are retro outings such [as] the Motown- influenced I Hate You Now and the gorgeous Penny Lane-era Beatles piece Flower, which urges a female friend to be tougher on a lover ("He wouldn't be so tough without that thing between his legs"). But Detroit is also a stylist in her own right, as evidenced by the grinding hard rock essay on obsession Elaine's Addiction and the angry but gently delivered protest at the effect of religious fundamentalism on women, Somebody's Mother. A beautiful, interesting album."
In another review, this time for Alisha's Attic's single Alisha Rules The World, a writer says: "Shit title. The oft-used Shakespears Sister comparison is even more legit when you consider Dave Stewart produced this piece of 80s in the 90s..."
In another review, this time for English singer Louise's album Naked: "...If Louise plays her cards right she could wind up as the 90s answer to the enduring Kim Wilde, or possibly even Lisa Stansfield. Louise could also re-invent herself Shakespears Sister-
style and become a new pop icon for eccentrics everywhere..."
Hmmmm. So does that make us a bunch of eccentrics?!
Mike.
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Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 10:05:03 +0100
From: Massimiliano Gini
Subject: MARCELLA DETROIT'S FLOWER
Hi Everyone,
Max here with bad news!
Unfortunately it would appear that the release of Marcy's new single "Flower" in the UK has been postponed (I begin to get used to this :->)!!
I don't know exactly what happened, however "Flower" doesn't seem to be out at the moment. :-(
"Feeler" is now out in the UK, though there is no limited edition of the album available or anything like that, just the standard UK issue.
As soon as I have some further details or another release date, I will let you know at once!!
Take Care,
MAX
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Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 13:12:38 +0100
From: Massimiliano Gini
Subject: MARCY !!!!!
Hi all,
Good news (I hope) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
According to Tower Records, the "Flower" CD single by Marcy will be out on March 24th. The previous release date was probably a print mistake.
Has anyone heard anything about the rumoured Japanese release of "Without Medication".
GCW,
MAX
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Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 17:07:41 +0100
From: Massimiliano Gini
Subject: Marcella Detroit
Hi everyone,
there is a very nice & recent Marcy photo followed by a biography (though written in German) on the Intercord page. The Internet address is:
http://www.intercord.com/
GCW,
MAX
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From: Denny Garbuio
Subject: Cover versions
I think had SS stayed together, Siobhan and Marcy would have had another #1 by remaking "Blue Skies" by BT featuring Tori Amos. It is a brilliant track and I think was meant for the two of them. It's perfect for them. I love that track. Check it out...
Denny
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The following questions were from new member James Foust
and I have given some quick replies. If anyone would like to add anything, please feel free to do so (as always).
Mike.
>1)Did Siobhan and Dave Stewart get a divorce? In a back issue I noticed >people talking about them like they had.
At this stage, they have separated. Dave has supposedly moved out to a flat, while Siobhan is keeping the house and the kids, according to a tabloid news report.
>2)Has Marcy's CD "Feeler" been released in the US? If not, will it?
You can email Marcy and ask her if you like! Her address is: detroit@atlas.co.uk
Marcy is now on her own independent label, so each country will have distribution from a different record company. The last I heard the details on the US release had not been finalised, but it should happen eventually. Don't expect it on Polygram though.
>3)Why, in Europe, do they leave out the apostrophe in Shakespear's >(Shakespears)? I have both the US and UK singles for "I Don't Care" and >"Stay" and noticed this. I also noticed it on the cover of HY that is on >some web pages. Another difference in this cover is that the UK version >has the writing on the top while the US version has "Shakespear's >Sister" going down one side and "Hormonally Yours" going down the other side.
Well you Americans just have to be different don't you? :-) Actually, for most of the releases for the first album, the apostrophe is there. For the second album, it got dropped everywhere except in the US. There was no apparent reason for the dropping. Siobhan has said it was left out through sheer apathy, and may resurface at some stage. I guess the US record co. kept it in for the sake of consistency. I prefer the spelling with it in, but I'm tending to use the no-apostrophe these days as all the UK releases since Goodbye Cruel World haven't had it. Speaking of differences, the album mixes of Could You Be Loved and Let Me Entertain You are different on the UK and US versions. I don't know why this happened either. On the UK CYBL, the first rapping session is omitted and the song is about 30 seconds shorter than the US version. The UK LMEY is also shorter, and omits the final "huh" at the end.
>Okay, that's all of my questions. I hope maybe someone can answer them. >(and the apostrophe question is one that has really bugged me because I >notice so many picky little details about things and they really start to >get annoying.) I also hope the new CD is out soon (and is available where >everyone on the list can get it without having to get it as an import). >Take Care, >Jim
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Also some questions from another new member, Danielle Pokorny
Since I haven't been on the mailing list until now, and live in the US where there is never any news on SS, I was wondering if you could fill me in on a few things:
Did Siobhan have some kind of nervous breakdown?
[The tabloids reported it this way, but Siobhan actually went for some treatment at a medical centre which also happened to have a psychiatric unit, hence the tabloid headlines "Siobhan in mad house" etc. An old issue of the fan club magazine "Harmonally Yours" has some more details on this that I'll dig up for next time. Mike]
Why did Marcy leave the group?
[It's probably fair to say that Marcy and Siobhan couldn't work together anymore as they were just too dissimilar in their lives outside of music. This was the catalyst for two great albums, but sadly it didn't last any longer. It should also be noted that Siobhan had left Bananarama in 1988 because she wanted to have much more say in what she was doing, and had not intended to form another group. The original intention was for Marcy to provide back up to Siobhan's solo project, but it worked so well that they formed a group. M.]
Are Siobhan and Dave Stewart still together?
[See above. Dave had produced most of the new Shakespears Sister album as it stood in 1996, and his presence will probably still be strong on the finished album when it eventually comes out. Recent recordings have not involved Dave as far as I know. M.]
I've picked up little snippets of info here, but still haven't heard the actual stories. Is any of this news on a website somewhere? I haven't heard anything since HY was out!
[Some back issues of this mailing list are available at Neil Goward's web site: http://www.netmatters.co.uk/users/neilg/
Another excellent site is: http://whig.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~ajg94/sha/spush.html
and: http://w3.one.net/~voyager/ssal.html
(oops, no, that one's gone now. How could you do this to us James!
;-)).
An official website is located at: http://www.shakespears-sister.com/
This will apparently be up and running when the album is out.
Marcy has her own official site at: http://www.marcelladetroit.com/ Mike.]
Also, looks like Siobhan dyed her hair blond? Is she done with the look she was sporting during HY?
[I guess you're referring to the sleeve for I Can Drive. It just looks blonde on that sleeve. It's hard to know if this was intentional or not. She still has long, straight dark hair in the video clip. There are recent promo photos around where her hair looks dark red, but that may be just the lighting...it's hard to tell..... M.]
Thanks for your help, and for including me on the list!
Danielle
SSML-55a
Hey everyone,
I forgot to include this in the mailout, so here's some supplementary reading for you :-)
Mike.
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From: Peter Eatroff (binkyq@interport.net)
Here's something for the list, unless you think it's getting too much like the Spice Girls on the BML:
[The really scary thing about the Spice Girls is that they've just done a comic relief video & single like the Narns did with Help:
"Subject: Dominator's UK Top 40 Chart Analysis (w/e March 22nd 1997)
From: The Dominator
1 (1) NON-MOVER : Spice Girls - Mama/Who Do You Think You Are *2nd Week at No.1*
Both tracks are taken from their semi-eponymously titled album, "Spice". "Mama" was released to cash in on Mother's Day (ie. March 9th this year), and "Who Do You Think You Are?" was released as the official 1997 single for Comic Relief (last Friday), the video being a collaboration with Spice Girls lookalikes, the Sugar Lumps, played by Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Kathy Burke, Lulu, and one other who I've never seen before."
This is frightening! Mike]
At the risk of replicating the Spice Girls thread on the Bananarama list, I have a couple of comments about Shampoo. I think they are VERY similar to Bananarama in a lot of ways. I will admit that when I first saw their stuff floating around, I thought they were a cheesy 90's rip-off of Strawberry Switchblade, without the style or talent, but then I saw the video for Trouble and had to re-think everything.
>>> They are so similar to Sarah & Keren!
>>
>>Very similar packaging styles. That's too funny...
>>
>> [Hmmmmm. But the Narns NEVER looked that tacky! Even in the >>freako early days there was at least a sense of style, and it was a >>product of the times. Shampoo seem very manufactured to me, >>and not in control. Mike]
I'm not sure I agree. I think the Narns were reacting to the trends in music and fashion in the late 70's/early 80's, and Shampoo is reacting to>the trends of the mid 90's. The Shampoo are "girl-lads" who fit neatly with what the Britpop boys are doing now, the same way Bananarama fit with the early New Wave movement. Both bands are made up of trouble making GIRLS who are thrilled to be girls, but not girlish. They're the most drinkin-est gals in pop.
>>>By the way, I don't think I ever heard a song from that Shampoo, so does >>>anyone know what their songs are like?
>>
>>Yeah I've heard two shampoo songs - "trouble" which is a brilliant piece of >>pop trite...and a more recent track - which slams going to college etc in >>the lyrics (well it *instantly* offended me!) and was complete rubbish...the >>b-side to the popular "trouble" was "school is boring...watch neighbours and >>home and away...." and "we don't care..." so they're the epitome of the >>bimbo-ism in the long-established tradition of Bananarama,...
The second song of which you speak is Girl Power, and it doesn't just slam college, it slams pretty much everything... "I don't wanna go to college don't wanna get a job I want to sit 'round the house, and act like a slob. I wanna be evil I wanna be bad I wanna drive the nextdoor neighbors mad"
I won't even get into the playing with guns and knives part. They have loads of songs about their make-up, and getting what they want because they are girls. Most of their music is pretty funny. (I'm actually a big Shampoo fan/collector.) As far as being manufactured and not in control of their own band, I really
can't say. I do know they get at least partial writing credit on most of their songs. Bananarama was also slagged off as being pre-
fab, and a commercial gimmick, so I guess time will tell. All I can say is that I do really like them, and I think .... [Sorry Peter, this last bit got lost. M.]
Peter.
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